Aachen
Aachen is a historically important city, spa and university centre in North Rhine-Westphalia, situated at the "three lands corner" where the borders of Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet. Known as Aix-la-Chapelle in French and Aken in Dutch, the city has played a prominent role in early Medieval Europe, when it became the favoured residence of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor who created the Carolingian Empire in the late 8th and early 9th century and built the city's impressive cathedral, where he is now buried along with a succession of later German rulers, many of whom were also crowned in the city. Wikivoyage
Population 263,703 (Wikidata)
Before you go
Getting there
Remembered in this browser only, with the last few you used.
Best-documented sights
All of them in the guide-
Centre Charlemagne Museum · 50 m -
Aachen Cathedral Attraction · 100 m -
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Aachen Town Hall Attraction · 110 m -
Grashaus Attraction · 110 m -
Büchel-Museum Rote Burg Museum · 190 m -
Domschatzkammer Museum · 30 m -
Archäologisches Fenster Rathaus, Karolingisches Mauerwerk aus der Zeit um 800 Archaeological site · 140 m -
Couven-Museum Museum · 160 m
Within a kilometre of the centre, ordered by how well documented each is — not by a "best" anyone decided. Each opens on the map in the guide. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited there.
Through the year
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Spring: Carnival
February – March
Experience the whole city and region becoming an outdoor and indoor party
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November - December: Aachen Christmas Market
November – December
From late November until 23 December, Aachen's Christmas market takes over Katschhof, Münsterplatz and the market square.
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Annual events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage (Aachen); descriptions from Wikipedia where it has one, photos from Wikimedia Commons. Dates move year to year — check before you plan around one.
Markets
Markets mapped on OpenStreetMap, with their hours where someone has added them. Check locally before you go.
Eating nearby
All 96 places to eatSomewhere to run
Places © OpenStreetMap contributors, as of 9 October 2026. Description from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage, population from Wikidata.